Has anyone Downlined? (Partial Cruise)

[DougMacP]

Downlining also know as a "partial cruise" is when you disembark early.  We are attending a wedding in Hawaii in Sept 2019, and the Radiance has a 10 cruise leaving from Vancouver BC to Honolulu.  What a great way to get there I thought.  Since the wedding is in Kona where the ship stops the day before the end of the cruise we'd like to get off there.   Called RCI reservations and they said you have to be booked before you can make the request and they are usually denied.  Since the ship embarks in Canada there is no violation of the Passenger Services Act.  Has anyone successfully done an early disembarkation?  Conversely, has anyone made the request and been denied?  

 

Here is the stated partial cruise protocol https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/partial-cruise-request

[Clarea]

People have reported being able to do this, however they usually have to pay an extra fee to cover government agents, since you are actually leaving the cruise and not in transit.

[Pratique]

Yes send an email to emergencyteam@rccl.com or

AirSeaGFO@rccl.com
Domestic: 1-800-256-6649 (prompt #1)

 

after you are booked. There is a fee.

 

BTW, the fee is for RCI only. It's a rip off. Lots of people including my father got off the Symphony TA early in Port Canaveral and had to pay the fee even though every passenger had to clear immigration anyway.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Pratique

[Pratique]

Just as a follow-on thought, you might be better off going to the end in Honolulu and flying back to Kona. The flights cost about as much as the downline fee and there's no partial refund of the cruise fare for getting off early anyway. Might as well make the most of the cruise you've paid for.

[emeraldcity]

Sounds like you talked to someone who gave you the easy answer rather than checking with someone else who was better informed. There were about 400 people who left the Adventure on Day 12 at Port Canaveral, rather than continuing on to Ft. Lauderdale. This was the Snowbird Migration cruise this past October, which originated in Canada. I believe the people who made advance arrangements to do so had to pay about $60-65 each.

 

And yes, a flight back to Kona the following day is an option, but you have to consider the aspect of a full morning lost taking transport to the airport, waiting for the flight, collecting baggage after the flight, etc. I'm sure you connect with someone at Royal who can be more accommodating than the past person you talked to.

 

[Biker19]

On 12/12/2018 at 4:38 PM, DougMacP said:

  Has anyone successfully done an early disembarkation? 

Did it in April during a repo like the one you are contemplating. $65 fee to do it and you are unlikely to be turned down unless they don't have the facilities/logistics to disembark you at the port you request. Front line CSRs probably don't about the process. Use the info posted in post #3 and follow up.

[Nado44]

Curious. Couldn’t the OP just disembark with luggage and simply „miss the boat“ while in Kona? Would pax incur a fee/fine?

[Paulxyz2004]

18 minutes ago, Nado44 said:

Curious. Couldn’t the OP just disembark with luggage and simply „miss the boat“ while in Kona? Would pax incur a fee/fine?

 

Carrying off your luggage at a port of call would be a huge red flag for the security at the gangway and they wouldn´t let you off with your luggage.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Nado44 said:

Curious. Couldn’t the OP just disembark with luggage and simply „miss the boat“ while in Kona? 

If security doesn't stop them they probably could but Kona is a tender port, so luggage logistics make it a bit more difficult. Also, if the weather is bad enough the port stop could be canceled so even if approved for leaving early, they could be forced to go to Honolulu (the next and final stop) anyway.